Wow.  I'm impressed on a number of fronts with this episode.

First?  The callbacks to previous episodes.  It seems that a lot of the plot points from previous episodes involving the Mandalorians, either on Mandalore or the Death Watch, have been culminated in these past couple of episodes.  The romance storyline with Obi-Wan and Satine doesn't seem quite as pointless as it did when it was first explored.  And revealing that Satine and Bo-Katan were sisters?  It draws an interesting parallel with the conflicting Mandalorian pacifist movement and the warrior culture behind Death Watch.

The aerial battle between the Mandalorian factions was actually really cool to watch.  The abilities of the armor have really been showcased in a great light, and it's made the buildup in the overall Mandalorian storyline worth waiting through.  But I don't know if the rest of the audience has that kind of appreciation for the slow buildup.

As for Maul and Savage?  Well, Maul's plans certainly seem to be unravelling.  He over-estimated his ability to manipulate and control the Death Watch, and didn't see the possibility that there might be a rebellion against him and his puppet government.  His execution of Satine was absolutely cruel, but not well calculated enough to achieve his desired goal of breaking Obi-Wan.

And then to watch Maul's realization that Sidious has come?  I was amazed to see the shift in Maul's character from confident, scheming conqueror to an almost sniveling sycophant when Sidious arrived.  And Savage Opress was really a non-factor, showing that he was not even worthy as an apprentice.  This duel absolutely upped the ante from Maul's duel with Pre Vizsla.  Especially since Sidious broke out TWO lightsabers.  I was a little surprised to see Maul do the same, using both his Sith lightsaber as well as the Dark saber.  But it was very clear as to who was the true Master, and who was the apprentice.  Then, when Sidious unleashed the Force Lightning on Maul, it was clear as to how he had dominated and controlled Maul from the time he had been selected as an apprentice.

Am I surprised that Sidious didn't kill Darth Maul?  Actually, no.  Because Darth Sidious is always plotting.  And I suspect that he means to use Maul as the story of the Clone Wars edges towards the events of Revenge Of The Sith.  My own theory is that Sidious plans to use Maul as he continues to push Anakin Skywalker further towards the Dark Side.  And the recurring theme of LOSS in Anakin's story arc seems the most likely avenue by which Sidious will use Maul to push Skywalker that much closer to becoming his apprentice.

I think some updates or adaptations of the Kenner mini-rigs might be pretty welcome.  But some other ideas come to mind, too.

Death Star troop transport (Imperial version of Rebel Hangar transport?) - with Stormtrooper & Imperial Scanning Trooper

Yavin IV watch tower - with Rebel Fleet Trooper & Rebel Honor Guard

Hoth Rebel Cannon - with Luke Skywalker in Snowspeeder gear & Echo Base Trooper (TVC 68)

Hoth Rebel mini-tank (modern take on vintage MLC-3) - with Princess Leia in Hoth gear & Hoth Rebel Trooper

Hoth Vehicle Maintenance Energizer (modern take on vintage mini-rig) - with Chewbacca & Echo Base Trooper repaint

Hoth Rebel Laser Radar Cannon - with Echo Base Trooper & Hoth Rebel Trooper

Hoth Rebel Hangar transport - with Echo Base Hangar Crew & Snowspeeder Pilot

E-Web Cannon - with 2 x Imperial Snowtroopers

CAP-2 (re-imagining of the vintage CAP-2 mixed with the Trandoshan hunting platform) - with Bossk & Dengar

Also, I'm shocked about the nastiness I am seeing aimed at Hasbro SW team members.  Sure DePreist made a snide comment about the 15th Cantina guy, but how many times has this guy been called an "idiot" or "moron" or "evil" in SW forums.  People seem to think it's all his fault.  It's also his fault that we got the BMF.

+1

The virtriole and hyperbolic fanboy whining that has been sent in Derrly DePriest's direction has been ugly and uncalled for.  How some people can look themselves in the mirror after spewing venom like that is beyond my comprehension. 

Does anyone REALLY remember the state of things around 2002/2003 before he took over the Hasbro-Star Wars team?  Things were NOT good.  Hasbro failed majorly on the Clone Troopers that were central to the title ATTACK OF THE CLONES by giving us a Clone Trooper with rank markings that we barely even saw in the movie.  And when Hasbro offered up a plain, white super articulated Clone Trooper?  I can still remember the mad scramble for that figure from 10 years ago.  It was RIDICULOUS.  It was a great figure for it's time, and collectors were so amped for the Clone Wars that they were clamoring for that figure, but nobody could find them to do the army building they wanted to do.

Collectors wanted more Clones?  We got them, and in spades!
Collectors wanted more articulation and less pre-posing?  That happened, and higher levels are articulation are pretty much standard
Collectors wanted a Big Millenium Falcon with lots of details?  We got it, and it's pretty awesome.
Collectors wanted other large vehicles, like the AT-TE, AT-AT, Turbo Tank, etc?  We got them.

Are things perfect?  No.  There are serious concerns over distribution at this time.  But things got a whole lot better for Star Wars collectors in the period following 2004 than they were before then.

There are actually lots of options when it comes to lighting.  The fluorescent shop lights are pretty common, but they do cast somewhat harsh light.  You can probably do a number of things that will be relatively easy without having to call an electrician.

If you've got a single suspended light, you can probably use the existing wiring and put in a track light fixture.  It's an easy install, and I've put in a few of these myself.  Check out some of the options that Lowes has in stock.  With track lighting you can tailor your lighting to the room.

As for your shelves?  You might want to look into some LED shelf lighting.  There have been some nice advances here, and it's pretty easy to fix some of these lighting strips to the underside of a shelf.  That direct overhead lighting will give a nice added dimension to displaying your collection.  The LED's aren't going to be so harsh as to cause any kind of light damage to lighter colored figures & vehicles.  And they're definitely very energy efficient.

Did anyone else read DD's quote and catch a bit disdain for collectors (who they now cater to)?

If it means OT goodness, I'm in.

I saw the "15th Cantina alien" remark as a bit of tough truth more than anything else.  As time has gone on Hasbro has made a lot of definitive versions of the main characters while working through the more obscure background characters.  Over time that narrows the pool of characters that might have a broader appeal, and ultimately that may hurt sales.  Why?  Because a kid may not really care about getting a Danz Borin figure, or whichever other cantina character you want to insert into that scenario.

I think from a sales perspective, Hasbro is still banking on the Star Wars line having mass appeal to a wide audience.  And it's in the name of sales to both kids and collectors.  I think what we're very likely to see is this:  higher production numbers of the kids oriented line, along with greater shelf & peg space, and lower production numbers on the Black Series, but with an eye towards serving collectors.

My predictions?

Han Solo (ANH)
Boba Fett (TESB)
Darth Vader (ANH)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (ROTS)

News is coming out that in addition to J.J. Abrams signing on to direct Episode VII, there is no longer a commitment to (presumably) a May 2015 release date.  That is now a soft date that is changeable due to the needs of production.  Check out this Hollywood Reporter article for the details.  And notably this quote:

Episode VII is set for release in 2015, but sources say Abrams has not committed to that release date, meaning the date could be changed if the development process requires it.

Gloin's absence is a little weird.  IIRC, someone mentioned that the Bridge Direct also has the license for LOTR, correct?  So perhaps they would do a Gloin / Gimli 2-pack?